At our last meeting, the San Carlos City Council had a lengthy and lively discussion about trash rates for 2013. Unfortunately, because we focused on rates rather than costs, we missed an opportunity to start making substantive improvements.

Costs drive rates because we set rates to cover costs. Rather than debating the level of various subsidies, it would be better to talk about ways to manage or reduce costs.

There are some legal constraints on that discussion. State law requires garbage, including compostable organics, to be picked up weekly. But it says nothing about recycling. Can we decrease the frequency of recycling pickups without unduly impacting residents and businesses? The law may also be silent on multiple households sharing a single garbage can. Shared cans would result in fewer pickups and lower costs. Perhaps the garbage pickup requirement could be relaxed, too, if all compostable material was picked up weekly.

A significant contributor to our higher trash rates are our environmentally conscious composting and commercial recycling programs. But they drive up costs, which drives up rates. Would less aggressive, less costly programs be acceptable? Personally, I support the current programs. But if we’re concerned about rates, we need to discuss what drives costs.

How about pushing for greater efficiency in collections, the single biggest cost factor (65 percent of the total)? Right now, three trucks visit each ratepayer to collect garbage, recyclables and compostables. Reducing the number of visits would probably reduce costs.

I’m sure there are more opportunities to reduce costs than what I’ve touched on here. Some will be more challenging to implement than others. That’s particularly true if they involve re-interpreting or renegotiating contracts. But knowing what’s possible, and what would be saved, can focus staff efforts on delivering results.

Ultimately, the council does have to set trash rates. But in the future most of our time and effort would be better served looking for ways to reduce costs. That’s what will end up delivering what everyone wants: a less costly trash service.

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